Today the Church celebrates the feast day of St. Wenceslaus ... whom we typically think of around Christmastime, as he went out on the Feast of Stephen (Dec. 26) to do some good works for the poor around his castle.
An important part of his story, though, begins long before he was ever crowned king. Wenceslaus' parents were nominally Christians, but they were what we'd call "non-practicing" today. His grandmother, St. Ludmilla, on the other hand, took a deep interest in Wenceslaus' faith education and invited him to come live in her castle and be tutored by her private chaplain, Father Paul (it must be nice to be able to run your own Catholic school for just one student!).
Thanks to St. Ludmilla, Wenceslaus learned rhetoric and statecraft and all those things a good king would be expected to know -- but he also made his Sacraments and learned to be a good Christian and a compassionate king. It is even said that, when he walked into a meeting with the German Emperor to negotiate a treaty on behalf of his kingdom, Emperor Charles got out of his seat to go and meet this impressive young ruler. (Emperors typically don't do that sort of thing ... they wait for the visitors to come and see them!)
So today I am very grateful for my own grandparents who were wonderful models of the practice of the Christian Faith. They were also my godparents, so that's a doubly good reason for them to make me think of Jesus! May God be good to them for their positive influence in my life.
And to all you grandparents out there -- especially grandparents whose children aren't particularly good models of faith for your grandkids -- say a prayer to St. Ludmilla today that she will help you to form your grandchildren in the Faith with your good example. She made a saint out of her grandson, so she might just help you, too!
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